Phage-mediated immunoassay and method for determining susceptibility of bacteria to antibiotics or probiotic agents

摘要

Methods are provided for determining the susceptibility or resistance of bacteria to antibiotic agents. In one embodiment, the method comprises culturing the bacterium in the presence or absence of an antibacterial agent to produce a primary culture, the primary culture then in the presence of the transformed phage or Cultured in the absence. Recombinant phages are specific to bacteria and contain heterologous markers (eg, nucleic acids expressible as a detectable product such as RNA or protein). The susceptibility or resistance of a bacterium to an antibacterial agent can be determined by assaying the culture for the presence or absence of the heterologous marker, the level of the marker in this culture compared to the level or activity of the marker in the control culture. Or a decrease in activity indicates that the bacterium is susceptible to the antibiotic drug. [Selection diagram] Figure 1